Catherine of Aragon

“Catherine of Aragon” depicts the first wife of King Henry VIII. The daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, Catherine was betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the English throne. They married in 1501, but Arthur died five months later. Catherine subsequently married Arthur’s younger brother, King Henry VIII, in 1509.

By 1525, Henry VIII was dissatisfied that his marriage to Catherine who had produced no surviving sons. He sought to have their wedding annulled and when Pope Clement VII refused to annul the marriage; Henry defied him by assuming supremacy over religious matters. In 1533 their marriage was declared invalid on the judgement of clergy in England, without reference to the Pope. Catherine refused to accept this outcome and was banished from court. She lived out the remainder of her life at Kimbolton Castle and died there in 1536.

The artist is unknown, but the painting has been attributed to Johannes Corvus, a Flemish portrait painter and native of Bruges, who came to England and Latinised his name to Jan Rave. Several other English painting of this period have been attributed to him.